Mariners fans should be smiling about ownership change

10:56 PM ET

SEATTLE — A Seattle-area native and passionate baseball fan, John Stanton still recalls his reaction as a teenager when he learned the Seattle Pilots had been sold and were moving to Milwaukee to become the Brewers in 1970.

“I cried when that team left town,” Stanton said.

In compensation for the Pilots’ departure, Seattle eventually acquired the expansion Mariners in 1977. There were several possibilities of that team moving before the Nintendo corporation bought the club in 1992 and kept baseball here. The team announced Wednesday that Nintendo is selling most of its majority stake to the other 17 current members of the Mariners ownership group, First Avenue Entertainment.

As part of that transition, Stanton, a minority owner since 2000, will be the new CEO and chairman. Seattle fans should be smiling, not crying at this news.

Under CEO Howard Lincoln, the Mariners have not reached the postseason since 2001, the longest current playoff drought of any major league team. How Stanton will do remains to be seen, but he doesn’t have a very high bar to match.

Since 2002, the Mariners have had nine managers and four general managers under CEO Howard Lincoln, who admits he’d like to have had a few mulligans. Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

In addition to the lack of postseason appearances, the Mariners have had nine managers and four general managers under Lincoln since 2002. Among the manager departures was Lou Piniella, who left after Lincoln declined to spend more money on needed players, and Bob Melvin, who went on to become a two-time manager of the year. That constant turnover did not bring success.

“I …

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